School caretaker who fell off ladder wins damages

A school caretaker who was injured falling off a six-foot stepladder has won damages after claiming he was not trained to use it properly.

By Rupert Neate

4:58PM BST 27 Jun 2008

Anthony Gower-Smith, 73, who claimed to have used ladders for more than 30 years, said bosses did not show him how to use the stepladder safely.

He fractured his skull, broke a cheekbone and split a kidney when he fell while removing a card display from a wall at Awbridge Primary School near Romsey, in Hampshire, in January 2004.

The High Court ruled that Hampshire County Council was 75% to blame for the incident. The council had denied negligence and said Mr Gower-Smith was given appropriate training.

Mr Gower-Smith was claiming up to £50,000 in damages. The amount he will now receive is to be decided at a later date.

Winchester County Court had earlier heard Mr Gower-Smith signed a form to say he had received "ladder training" but he claimed it only consisted of being warned not to stand on the top platform or work at higher than three metres (10 feet) off the ground.

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"I thought that was the extent of ladder training," he told the court. "I didn't know there were other things regarding ladders."

In a statement of defence, the council said Mr Gower-Smith, of North Baddesley, near Southampton, was negligent, adding: "The claimant knew perfectly well how to use a stepladder."

In his ruling Recorder Christopher Moger QC said: "The fact that stepladders are everyday objects of which most people would be expected to have some experience makes careful training of the less obvious risks associated with their use more rather less important."

But he added: "It must have been obvious to him, as it is to anyone who uses a stepladder, that the equipment became less stable and he became more vulnerable the higher he climbed and the further he reached."

After the verdict, councillor David Kirk said: "While we are very sorry that an accident happened to Mr Gower-Smith while he was in our employment, the county council is also extremely surprised and disappointed today with the court's verdict."